Microplastic pollution has become a major challenge for aquatic environments and long-term human health. This presentation will introduce recent progress from our group on catalytic strategies for microplastic degradation and sustainable environmental catalysis.
First, we will discuss a tandem catalytic system that couples microplastic degradation with photocatalytic hydrogen evolution [1], enabled by single-atom iron sites supported on hierarchical porous carbon nitride. In this system, microplastics such as ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene are effectively broken down through hydrothermal-assisted Fenton-like reactions into low-molecular-weight organic products, while simultaneous hydrogen evolution is achieved under light irradiation. The process shows good adaptability to different types of common plastics and operates across a range of aqueous environments, highlighting its potential as an integrated approach for plastic remediation and energy conversion.
Secondly, we will present a complementary strategy for engineering carbon-based catalysts from eight plant biomass with distinct flaky or acicular structures. By correlating the native biomass morphology with the structural and chemical properties of the derived carbons, we aim to provide insight into how biomass structure influences catalytic performance [2]. The optimal biomass species, common sow thistle, was further investigated for carbon catalyst engineering with enhanced activity toward peracetic acid activation [3]. This catalyst enables highly selective singlet oxygen generation, leading to rapid and efficient phenol degradation. Structure-activity analysis reveals that microporosity contributes positively to catalytic performance, while surface C=O functionalities act as the dominant active sites. In contrast, C–O and carboxyl (COOH) groups are found to be unfavorable for singlet oxygen production. This study provides mechanistic insight into how biomass morphology, pyrolysis atmosphere, and surface functional group distribution collectively determine the performance of carbon-based environmental catalysts.
Together, these studies illustrate how green catalyst design at the structural and atomic levels can support practical solutions for plastic pollution control and sustainable environmental processes.